


Avengers: Slices of Life

by MnR



Category: Black Widow (Comics), Hawkeye (Comics), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky is Yasha, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Children of Characters, Deaf Clint Barton, F/M, M/M, Most of the time, Movie Comic Mashup, My First Work in This Fandom, My head canon is fun, Natasha Romanov Needs a Hug, Natasha is not as young as she looks, Natasha is pushy when she's drunk, Relationships to be added - Freeform, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, Tags Are Fun, but we love him anyway, clint is an idiot sometimes, my summary sucks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-26
Updated: 2016-04-09
Packaged: 2018-05-29 04:55:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6360199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MnR/pseuds/MnR
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of vignettes that span from the 1930's to the current time. Jumping from the past to the present and back again, we see how the Avengers came to be who they are, what secrets they are hiding, and how they go from a dysfunctional team to a family. Watch love rekindle, love blossom, loyalties change, Natasha beat on Clint, and more.</p><p>Chapter 1: Past-Bucky/Natasha<br/>Chapter 2: Bucky/Steve<br/>Chapter 3: Clint & Natasha<br/>Chapter 4: Bucky/Steve<br/>Chapter 5: Clint & Natasha with references to Barney for good measure.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. *1971* Escape The Red Room

**Author's Note:**

> So all of these vignettes take place in my own head-canon, where movies meet comics and I pull from both to create my own little mashup. Each vignette will be a short story and all are related, even if they aren't told in a linear fashion.

*1971*

“You were sloppy today little spider,” The Winter Solider said looking at her after their sparring session had ended. “You were protecting where I wasn’t even attacking,” he said in concern. In the 5 years he’d been training Natalia Romanova, he’d never seen her sloppy.

“Yasha,” Natalia said biting her lip. She looked up at the man who’d became her whole world 5 years ago, on her 16th birthday, the day she’d advanced in her training to the next level and had been assigned a new trainer. They called him, The Asset, The American, The Winter Solider. He said he didn’t have a name, he didn’t remember it, he didn’t need one, but she had been insistent. She’d decided he looked like a Yasha, so that’s what she’d begun to call him, in private, when her handlers weren’t nearby.

“Natalia? What is it?” Yasha asked her, the tone in her voice when she said his name, it sparked something inside him, the need to protect her, just liked he’d protected… he shook his head, the memory fading as soon as it surfaced.

“I’m pregnant,” Natalia said softly. “If they find out…” she trailed off. He knew what they would to do her, what they would do to him. Sure their KGB handlers had approved of their relationship, hoping it would instill a loyalty to each other, and to the motherland, but children were forbidden. She was even to undergo a procedure shortly that would render her sterile.

Yasha’s heart skipped a beat when Natalia spoke. Pregnant, they’d been so careful. Now, now they would take her away from him, take her away and he’d never see her again, never see their child. Spies and assassins weren’t supposed to have children. It was the one thing that could compromise a mission, the one thing that could be more important than loyalty to the motherland, the bond a parent had with their child.

“Yasha?” Natalia asked, her voice trembling slightly, showing a vulnerability to him that she would never dare show to another soul, she was a Red Room trainee, to be vulnerable is to be weak, and weakness has no place in this world.

“Come with me,” Yasha said taking her hand, leading her quickly out of the training room and hitting a hidden panel in the wall, opening a secretly passage. “Hurry little spider,” he said pulling her into the darkened hallway.

“Where are we going?” Natasha asked him curiously. “How did you know this was here?” she asked him.

“We’re leaving,” Yasha told her firmly. “I won’t let them take you away from me, now not. I lost…” he trailed off, pausing as the memory tried to resurface and failed. “I’m not going to lose you too little spider.”

“But where will we go? I’ve never left this place, not since I got here! What are we going to do? We’re spies, assassins, we can’t just leave!” Natalia exclaimed quietly.

“We’re leaving this place, we’re leaving this country, we’ll go,” Yasha paused as he thought about it, leading her underground, to the passage that would take them out of the Red Room facilities. “We’ll go to America, we’ll be safe there. The Red Room won’t be able to touch us, Russia won’t be able to touch us. We can blend, we are spies, we are made to blend.”

“America! We can’t! They are the enemy!” Natalia said tugging on his arm. “Yasha, we can’t go to America, they hate us.”

“Natalia, do you trust me?” Yasha asked her, stopping to turn, looking into her bright green eyes. “Do you trust me little spider,” he asked, his hand coming up to cup her cheek.

“I do. You know that I do.”

“Then you have to believe me. We will be safe there,” Yasha told her as they made it to street level. He helped her out of the passage way only to find themselves surrounded by Red Room handlers and guards. He pulled Natalia behind himself to protect her and began to lash out at them. His metal arm gleaming in the sunlight as he began to disarm them, his own knife finding purchase, a slash to the stomach, a slit across the throat, marring his arm in blood. “Natalia! Run!”

“Yasha I can’t leave you!” Natalia said and pulled out her own knives and began to attack, becoming the weapon they made her to be, only turned against them instead of their enemies.

Yasha continued to fight beside her, grabbing one guard before he could get to her and snapping his neck with a sicking ‘snap’. “Natalia… run. I WILL find you again, I swear. Please… for the little one,” he said as more and more guards began to fill the corridor between the buildings. He threw down a smoke grenade he’d had in the back of his vest. “Go!” he yelled at her.

It broke her heart, but she did what he said. Running past the disoriented guards and handlers, using all her speed and skill to become a shadow, to disappear, lost to the Red Room forever. When she finally stopped running, miles away from where she’d started she put a hand to her stomach. She could only hope, that one day he would find her again. One day they would both be free.

 

 


	2. 2014 Aftermath of the Helicarrier

*2014*

“You are my MISSION!” The Winter Solider yelled at the man below him, the man claiming to be his friend. The man he was tasked with to take out. As the helicarrier came down around them, he raised his fist, ready to deliver to the final blow, ready to finish his mission.

“Then finish it! Because I’m with you… till the end of the line,” Steve breathed out, gazing up at him as best he could, one eye swollen shut, his cheek a nasty shade of bruising. If this was the end of their line, his death coming at the hands of the man who had been his entire universe his whole life, then so be it. This was the straw that broke Steve Rogers back. Not waking up from the dead almost 70 years in the future, not fighting aliens raining down from the sky with a thrown together team he knew barely anything about, no the straw that broke Steve Rogers back was the love of his life, staring through him like he was nothing, like he didn’t know him. The love of his life, shooting to kill, his eyes devoid of the love they once had, cold and uncaring like the river below them.

The Winter Solider gazed down at him and blinked, the man below him, his mission, was Steve, HIS Steve. Before he could say anything, do anything, the floor dropped out from below them and he had to grab onto the steel beaming of the helicarrier, watching helplessly as the man who had been his entire world fell into the murky waters below. In a flash he remembered, in a déjà vu sort of way, falling from a train, arms outstretched as he fell away from the man who was his world, the anguished look on his lover’s face that continually haunted his dreams for nearly 70 years, the face that he hadn’t been able to put a name too, until right then.

In a split second he made a decision, the first decision he’d made on his own since the Russians had sold him to Hydra. He let go of the helicarrier and contorted his body into a perfect dive, swimming down deep into the waters of the Potomac, searching, his hands sweeping below him until they found purchase on Steve’s uniform. He kicked up to the surface and dragged Steve’s body out of the river. He laid him on the shore and knelt down next to him, checking to make sure he was breathing.  

Now The Winter Solider had another decision to make. Did he stay, stay with the man he knew, the man he loved? Or did he leave, before what was left of S.H.I.E.L.D came for him. How would Steve ever forgive him for what he did, what he had become?

“Yasha…” a cold voice behind him had him reaching for a weapon as he turned around and stared, more memories bubbling to the surface. Of a girl, the smallest of them all, a girl who wouldn’t give up, a girl who’d subconsciously reminded him so much of Steve that he couldn’t help but come to care about her.

“Little Spider… what have I done?” The Winter Solider, Bucky, he thought to himself. Steve called me Bucky.

“You,” Natasha paused her weapon still drawn on him. “You remember?” She asked, fighting to keep the tremble out of her voice. “Yash…. James,” she said taking a deep breath.

“I loved him,” he said his gaze falling back to Steve. “He was my everything, and then,” he paused. “Then you became my everything,” he said as he turned his gaze back to his little spider, his Natalia. “Our child. Did…” he trailed off, afraid of the answer. His memories were coming at him like a tidal wave, overwhelming him to the point that it became difficult to put them in order.

“She’s safe,” Natasha said giving him the barest hint of a smile. “She’s beautiful.”

“I’m not safe,” Bucky said looking at her. “I’m still,” he paused. “I need to go. I need to find…” he trailed off. What did he need to find? He needed to find himself. In the massive jumble that was the memories in his head, he needed to find who he was. “Take care of him little spider,” he said taking a deep breath. “I will come back to him, come back to you, come back to our daughter, I swear to you.”

“Last time you said that,” Natasha said her voice catching, betraying her emotions. “I didn’t see you again until you put a bullet through my side.”

“We’re in America now,” he said to her. “They can’t hurt us anymore.” He turned to go, hearing the helicopters and sirens in the distance. “We’re free now,” he said walking away, away from his Steve, away from Natalia, away from the world until he was safe. Safe for them, safe for himself, safe for his daughter.

*****************************

It had taken a week for Steve to regain consciousness, Sam and Natasha watching over him in shifts. Natasha waited until Sam left to take the seat next to Steve’s bed. “Rogers…”

“He remembered me, I know he did,” Steve said softly, his eyes closing. “He saved me. Then he left,” he said his breath catching on the last word, the heartbreak in his tone overwhelming.

“He left to protect you. He told me…” she trailed off. “He said he wasn’t safe Steve.”

“How could you let him leave,” Steve said, his voice cracking, evidence of the tears that were being held back by sheer willpower.

“I had to,” Natasha said taking his hand. “He promised he would come back.”

“I have to find him. I have to. I can’t…” he trailed off closing his eyes tightly. He had to find Bucky, his heart ached for his lover, now that he knew he was alive, he couldn’t rest until he found him. “I have to know what they did to him.”

“I’m working on it,” Natasha said looking over at him, her heart breaking for Steve. “I’ll have a lead for you by the time you get out of the hospital… I promise.”

“I trust you,” Steve said softly, feeling sleep tugging at him once more. He held onto Natasha’s hand tightly until he succumbed to the feeling, drifting off to sleep, dreaming of his lover, his Bucky, wondering if this was the beginning of a new chapter in their lives, or truly the end of the line.


	3. *2012* Aftermath of New York: Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff

*2012* Aftermath of New York

Clint shut the driver’s side door of his and Natasha’s car after Thor and Loki’s departure from Central park. “Did the past week really just happen?” he asked looking over at the red head in the passenger seat. When Natasha leaned over and pinched his arm he swatted at her. “Owww… what was that for?”

“You’re not dreaming,” Natasha said simply. “Aliens rained down from the sky, half of Manhattan is destroyed, and we’re Avengers now,” she said with a shrug, as if this sort of thing happened every day. Not much could rattle Natasha Romanoff, but this was as close to something as any.

“And I spent days as murder-puppet for a psychotic mini-Frost Giant,” Clint said starting the car and pulling away from the sent off spot, speeding through the city in to put as much distance between it and them as possible.

“Frost Giant?” Natasha asked him curiously. “He’s Thor’s adopted brother, he’s Asgardian,” she said to him.

“Adopted yes, Asgardian only by way of adoption,” Clint said to her. “He’s a stunted Frost Giant, son of the former King of Jotenheim, he was cast out and Odin adopted him, and never told him, raised him as an equal to Thor, knowing the entire time he would never be equal to Thor,” he explained.

“He told you all of this?” Natasha asked in shock, now this, this rattled her.

Clint nodded, “He got my life-story out of me, and then traded me his own in return,” he said with a sigh. “I really don’t want to talk about this right now,” he added looking over at her. The more he remembered of his time under the influence of the scepter, the more the pieces didn’t add up, nothing seemed to be falling into place, and he had no shot lined up, and he hated that.

“What do you want Clint?” Natasha asked curiously.

“I want to go home, I want to hug our kids, and figure out what to do next,” Clint told her. “I need to see them,” he added softly.

“Then let’s go home,” Natasha said with a smile. “I miss them too, and you know Annie is going to be beside herself that she missed out on this,” she said with a laugh. “I can already hear her whining about being stuck on babysitting duty while shit was hitting the fan in New York.”

“Not our fault the bad guys decided to attack while school’s out for the summer,” Clint said with a laugh. “You know, Annie is as old as I am and a level 6 S.H.I.E.L.D. agent to boot, but you put her with Lilly and…”

“And she regresses into a whiny bratty teenager, I know,” Natasha said with a laugh. “Take us home, Hawkeye. Take us home.”

*3 days later*

“Annie! Annie! Somebody’s coming!” Lilly called to her from where she was perching on the roof, next to her big sister’s bedroom window. “It’s mom and dad!” she exclaimed and jumped to her feet.

“Lilly! Get back in here and wait!” Anastasia Romanova yelled at her baby sister as she stuck her head out the window. “Lillian Romanova Barton!”

“But it’s Mom and Dad!” Lilly said and stuck her tongue out at her big sister and ran to the edge of the roof and jumped down into a pile of hay she’d hauled next to the porch for specifically that reason. She rolled out of the hay pile all 12 years old and a bundle of energy.

As soon as the car stopped and her father got out of the car she launched herself at him. “Dad! Dad! I saw the news! You guys are heroes! You saved the world! It was sooo cool! You…you…” she said so excited to see them and talk about their exploits she was bouncing.

“Hey sweetie,” Clint said wrapping his arms around his one and only daughter as he held her tightly. “Daddy missed you so much,” he murmured kissing her mound of red curls. She was every bit his and Natasha’s daughter. His complexion and tri-colored eyes, Natasha’s flaming red hair and temperament, and skilled not only with the use of a bow, but in hand-to-hand combat and knives, curtesy of her older sister wanting her to be safe when she couldn’t be there to watch her.

Annie walked out the front door and shook her head, “Lilly is going to break her neck someday mother,” she said walking over to Natasha and hugging her. “Are you okay? Is Clint? Fury kept me out of the loop after telling me Clint was compromised and to protect Lilly at all costs,” she said softly.

“I’m fine,” Natasha said hugging her oldest tight. “Clint is fine, he was mind-controlled by Loki, but I broke him free of it. He just needs his family,” she said leaning up to kiss her cheek. “How was Lilly while we were gone?”

“Why did you have to have her again? I mean, I’m perfection, you could have stopped with me,” Annie said telling Natasha exactly how things had been going while they were away.

“You love her and you know it,” Natasha said shaking her head. At the face Annie made at her comment she scoffed, “For goodness sakes Anastasia, you’re 41 years old, please try to act like it,” she said rolling her eyes.

“I told you Nat, that serum you guys have, she may be 41 but she’s gonna live forever, she’s still a bratty teenager,” Clint said with a laugh still holding his daughter tightly.

“I have dirt Clinton,” Anastasia said glaring at him, her glare every bit a combination of her mother’s murderous glare and he father’s murderous glare. It would cower lesser men, or she thought privately, smarter men, but it only made Clint laugh even more.

“You threaten, but never follow through,” Clint said through his laughter. “Come on, go on inside, your mom and I will be in after we grab our bags,” he said kissing Lilly’s forehead.

“Okay dad,” Lilly said and ran over to hug her mom tightly for a minute then grabbed Annie’s hand. “Come on Sis, we gotta clean up before they get inside,” she hissed quietly as she dragged her older sister into the house.

Natasha watched them go inside and turned to Clint, “You look better,” she commented with a smile.

“I got my best friend, my pseudo-daughter, and my Lilly,” Clint replied going to the trunk and grabbing their bags. “Life, even going through what we went through, life is…” he smiled. “Pretty damn good right now.”

“Yes, yes it is,” Natasha agreed taking her bag as they headed for the porch.

“So…” Clint trailed off with a grin. “Thor was lookin’ pretty damn good out there in battle wasn’t he?” he asked with a grin, as Natasha groaned. “What! Tell me I’m not wrong! His hair got longer, seriously… I just want to grab a handful and…” he was cut off with a hand over his mouth.

“Barton, if you’re going to spend hours waxing eloquent about Thor’s virtues again, I’m going to need vodka and a bath, or I will stab you, do you understand me?” Natasha asked him with a glare.

Clint comically nodded his head, her hand still over his mouth, “Yes ma’am” came his muffled reply.

“Good boy,” Natasha said removing her hand and opening the door. Sure she’d have to listen to Clint go on for hours about the Thunder God again, but Annie always made sure they had the good vodka, and nobody gave a foot massage like Clint Barton, so all in all she was coming out ahead of the game, she thought to herself as they went inside.


	4. *2015* September: Finding Bucky Barnes

The Winter Solider, no, The American, no, Yasha, no, The Asset, no, James Barnes, yes that was right, that was his name. James Buchanan Barnes or Bucky Barnes to everyone but his mother. He huddled near the fire he had going in an abandoned house in Brooklyn, and scribbled into a notebook his full name, again. He flipped to the beginning of the notebook. Steven Grant Rogers, his Stevie. They’d grown up together, lived together, fought together, and loved one another. They loved one another in a time where that was a death sentence. He looked at the list of things he wrote down that he remembered about Steve. The page was crammed, his mother’s name, the name of the deli down the street where they’d share a pastrami on rye with extra pickles, the address of the Woolworths, where if they had a few extra coins they’d share a malt and maybe a chocolate bar if Steve was showing signs of his glucose levels being low.

“Stevie,” he whispered softly and ran his fingers over the face he’d sketched. The memories came to him, some good, some so awful they were enough to make him cry. He remembered, he remembered the woman in the corner, the porcelain skin, the bright green eye, one eye, half her body was hidden in the shadows and her other eye was entirely white. The Angel of Death, she had wanted to take Steve from him, take him away from the pain, the illness. He remembered pleading with her, begging her not to take him away. How long had he argued with her for? Hours, he thought to himself. But he had won, he’d won the battle and Steve had recovered. How many time had he done that? Four… no six, six times he’d seen her appear in the corner, and six times he’d argued for his best friend, for the love of his life.

He went to turn the page when his head snapped up, a barely audible creak in the wood on the porch alerting him to someone at the door. He stepped into the shadows, grabbing the Glock he always kept in arms reach. He listened to the footsteps, two men, they tried to walk silently but they weren’t trained, not like he was. As the first of the men approached he lashed out with a solid right punch only to have the man duck just in time.

“Buck! Bucky! It’s me… its Steve,” the man said stepping into the light. “Come on Buck, you know me,” he said holding his hands up in in a non-threatening manner. “This is Sam, he’s a friend,” he said to him, motioning with his fingers for Sam to come forward into the light.

Bucky lowered his gun slowly, “Steve…” he said taking a deep breath. “How’d you find me?”

“We’ve been searching for over a year Buck,” Steve said stepping into the room, making sure to telegraph his motions to put Bucky at ease. “Chasing every cold lead, I played a hunch, it worked out,” he said with a warm smile.

“You always had the dumbest luck,” Bucky said setting his gun on the table. “I don’t want him here,” he said nodding to Sam. “Not yet, I can’t…” he trailed off, eyes pleading for Steve to understand.

“Sam, head out, I’ll meet you back at the facility,” Steve said turning to Sam.

“Steve, I’m not gonna…”

“Sam, it wasn’t a request, it was an order, he’s not going to hurt me,” Steve said to him in his ‘Captain America’ tone. “Go.”

Bucky watched Sam give him a once over, before he turned to walk away. Bucky waited until he heard the door shut, the creak of the steps telling him Sam had listened, Sam had walked away. He walked over to Steve and dropped to his knees. “Stevie, I’m sorry,” he said his voice wavering. “I’m so sorry.”

“Buck…” Steve said kneeling down and wrapping his arms around him. “It wasn’t your fault. None of this, was your fault. You didn’t know.” He said soothingly, rubbing his hand over Bucky’s back, the same way Bucky had done to him so many time.

“I should have fought harder, I should have known, I should have…”

“No,” Steve’s voice was firm. “Bucky I know what they did to you, the fact that you broke free when you did was a miracle,” he said softly.

“I did it for you, when you said…” Bucky trailed off, burying his head into Steve’s neck. “I did it for us,” he whispered.

“Do you remember us Buck?” Steve asked curiously, his breath catching in his throat, his heart wanting to leap out of his chest. Did Bucky remember them? Remember what they were to each other? Remember the love they shared?

Bucky nodded into his neck, “I loved you,” he paused. “I LOVE you. We were together, nothing could tear us apart, not until…” he trailed off.

“I’m so sorry Bucky, I tried so hard to get you, and I wanted to go looking for you, I begged them,” Steve whispered his voice breaking as he clung to Bucky.

“If it’s not my fault, it’s not your fault. The only people responsible for this are the Russians, the Russians and Hydra,” Bucky said firmly. Speaking of Russians, had Natasha told him, told Steve about their relationship, told Steve about their daughter. “Has Natalia...” he paused. “Did she tell you about…”

“She did, when we had to go to ground for a while,” Steve said softly. “You need to know I don’t begrudge you. I’m glad Natasha was able to be a bright spot in your life at that point.”

“She reminded me of you, I just didn’t know it,” Bucky said pulling his head back. “I need your help Stevie.”

“Anything Bucky, absolutely anything for you,” Steve said gazing into those storm-blue eyes, the emotion he saw there, was enough to break his heart.

“I need to find my daughter, I need to see with my own eyes that she’s safe,” Bucky said to him.

“I know where she is,” Steve told him. “Come with me, let’s get you somewhere safe, somewhere you can clean up, get a good meal in you, and then we’ll go see her,” he promised him and helped Bucky to his feet. “Are you good?”

Bucky nodded, “I’m with you, everything else is a walk in the park, punk,” he said with a smile.

“You’ll never be without me Buck, not anymore,” Steve said slipping his arm around Bucky’s shoulders. “I’m with you jerk…”

“Till the end of the line,” Bucky finished with a smile. For the first time since he broke free, since he went into hiding to find himself, he felt like things were going to be okay. There were bad days ahead, he wasn’t going to kid himself. But he was home, he was with Steve. He was going to meet his daughter, and his life was his own again. The Angel of Death was right, he thought to himself. He found his Steve again. It made everything he went through, all the torture and all the pain, worth it. Steve was worth it, he was worth everything.


	5. *2013* September: Back to School

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did promise you Natasha beating on Clint. :)

*2013* September

Natasha sat next to Clint on the couch, a fire crackling in the fireplace. They were in Iowa, spending the last week before school with their daughter Lilly. “So, Lilly goes back to school in a week,” she said looking over at Clint.

“Do I gotta?” Lilly asked as she snuggled between her parents. “It’s so dull there!”

“Yes you do. It’s school, it’s not supposed to be too exciting,” Clint said with a chuckle.

“But can’t I go to D.C. with you guys!” Lilly pouted, looking between them, trying for her best puppy dog eyes. “Come on please…”

“You’re going back to Berkeley, end of discussion,” Clint said with a sigh.

“What your father said,” Natasha added tugging one of her curls.

“You guys suck,” Lilly grumbled and stomped upstairs to her bedroom to sulk.

“Every year, then about two weeks later we hear how AWESOME school is,” Clint quipped shaking his head. “She’s your kid,” he told Natasha.

“Uh-huh, that attitude is ALL Clint Barton,” Natasha retorted. “So, we need to figure something out for her protection. Fury says he needs Annie in D.C.,” she told him.

“It’s taken care of,” Clint said purposely not looking at her as he sipped his beer.

“What do you mean it’s been taken care of?” Natasha asked raising an eyebrow. “Tell me you’re not having one of your Brooklyn buddies keep an eye on OUR daughter,” she said curtly. “If it’s Wade, I swear to god Clinton…”

“It’s not Wade! I’m not crazy Natasha!” Clint exclaimed. “Family’s looking out for her,” he told her quietly and got up to go get another beer.

“Family? We don’t have….” Natasha trailed off. “No! No way! You did NOT!” She exclaimed jumping up and following him to the kitchen. “Tell me you didn’t ask Charlie to watch her!”

“He hates being called Charlie by the way,” Clint said opening up his beer.

“Barney, fine, tell me you didn’t ask your BROTHER to watch OUR daughter!” Natasha exclaimed crossing her arms and leveling her best ‘I will kill you in your sleep’ glare at him.

Clint rubbed his ear, “What was that Nat? I can’t hear you,” he said popping his hearing aids out. “My aids must be fritzing,” he said pocketing them.

Natasha spun him around and began to sign, “Clinton Francis Barton. If you asked Barney to keep an eye on Lily so help me God I will…”

“Oh my god! My vision has gone hazy! I can’t see what you’re signing!” Clint said swatting at the air in front of her. “Natasha? Where are you? Oh my god I’ve gone blind!”

“Oh for the love of,” Natasha said and took a swing at him only to have him duck it. “You saw that coming just fine,” she huffed and sucker punched him and swung up so her legs were around his neck and morse code tapped on his fore head. “Aids. In. Now.”

“Ow! Ow! Fuck me! Ow! Nat! I can’t! Ow!” Clint gasped out and brace himself on the counter as he grabbed his aids and put them back into his ears. “They’re in, they’re in, lemme go!”

Natasha swung off his neck and punched him in the gut again, “What the fuck are you thinking?” she yelled at him. “How many times as he tried to kill you? And you’re asking him to watch our daughter? Are you insane?”

“Jury is still out,” Clint said rubbing his neck. “He’s changed Nat. He’s different. When I was in Brooklyn, he stopped by and we talked it out. He even helped me with that Tracksuit Dracula problem I was having,” he told her as he grabbed for his beer again. “I mean he’s still kind of a jerk, but so am I… it’s a Barton thing.”

“Yes, yes it is,” Natasha said with a sigh. “You trust him Clint? Honest to god with our daughter’s life you trust him?”

“I wouldn’t have asked him if I didn’t Nat. You know Lilly is the most important thing in my world,” Clint said firmly. “I wouldn’t have even told him about her if I didn’t think I could trust him with this, with her.” He said with conviction.

“Fine, but this is conditional, and if he hurts her, or you, in any way, he’s not the only Barton I’m castrating,” Natasha said grabbing Clint’s beer and drinking it down. “Where’s the vodka,” she said going for the freezer.

“Do you trust me?” Clint asked getting the tumblers ready for her, he knew she’d be lining them up and knocking them back.

“You know that I do,” Natasha said to him, as she filled the tumblers with vodka and began to knock them back.

Clint grabbed the last one before she could and drank it down, “Then trust me with this. Barney’s changed, we’ve all changed, and this is a good thing. He’s the only family I have left Nat. I need this...” he paused. “I need you to trust me with this.”

Natasha was silent a moment and then nodded, “Fine, I trust you. I don’t know if I trust him yet, but I trust you that you trust him,” she told him and smacked him for taking the last tumbler of vodka. That was the best he was going to get out of her right now, for springing this on her like that.

“Ow. I deserve that,” Clint said and hugged her. “It’ll be okay, he’s as good a shot as I am. She’ll be safe.”

“We’ll see,” Natasha said hugging Clint back and then smacked him upside the back of the head. “Asshole.”

“She says like it’s an insult,” Clint quipped. “I love you too Natasha.”

“Shut up, Clint, just shut up.”

 


End file.
